Democrats blame big business for botched rollout

Facing an onslaught of constituent frustration over problems with online exchanges, several Democrats have started pointing fingers at the companies and senior executives in their home states that have contracts to get the health care websites up and running.

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Democrats have made a version of the argument in Washington in recent months, defending the health care law not only from Republican attacks that it’s a failure — but from the line that government itself can’t do big things.

The Oregon Democrat called out software developer Oracle and its president and Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz by name in town hall meetings and to local media over the Christmas recess. He said they’re responsible for the state’s “Cover Oregon” website problems.

“We have a horrendous state software glitch,” Merkley said at a town hall in the Portland area. He also told constituents that Catz took full responsibility for the problems in a conversation he had with her.

“I called the president of Oracle. Her name is Safra Catz. She wouldn’t even let me talk for 10 minutes; she just apologized saying they’ve never had a failure like they’ve had for Oregon,” Merkley told local CBS affiliate KOIN.

While Oregon had been an early supporter of the president’s health care law, moving swiftly to set up its own online exchange for uninsured residents to buy health insurance, the website rollout has been widely panned. Cover Oregon still does not have a fully operational online exchange and enrollees have had to use paper applications. Last week, Cover Oregon Executive Director Rocky King resigned. In December, Oregon Health Authority’s chief information officer, Carolyn Lawson, who was responsible for setting up the exchange, departed.

This isn’t the first time Merkley has said Oracle is to blame for the state’s online exchange problems but the attack is notable for his singling out Catz, a major political donor to both Republicans and Democrats.

So far, Catz has doled out $42,500 to federal candidates in the 2014 cycle, writing checks to top political leader across both aisles, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Over the years, she’s also given to many of Merkley’s Democratic colleagues, including Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mark Udall of Colorado and Chuck Schumer of New York.

Oracle declined to comment on Merkley’s statements.

“When a top global technology firm is hired for a project, you expect results,” said Martina McLennan, a spokeswoman for Merkley. “There’s surely plenty of blame to go around, but at this point the focus needs to be on ensuring that every Oregonian has access to health coverage and the new protections that are available under the law. Sen. Merkley’s focus is on making the system work so that the law’s benefits continue to reach as many Oregon families as possible.”